Improvement in street-railroad cars



J. STEPHENSON.

Street Car.

Patented Feb. 23,1869.

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UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN STEPHENSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN STREET-RAILROAD CARS.

Specification forming part of Lctters'Pdtent No. 87,121, dated February 23, 1869.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN STEPHENSON, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Street=Gars; and that the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, hereinafter referred to, forms a full and exact specification of the same, wherein I have set forth the nature and principles of my said improvement, by which my invention may be distinguished from all others of a similar class, together with such parts as I claim and desire to have secured to me by Letters Patent.

The invention consists in constructing the wheel-houses in such a manner that they will be removable or detachable at pleasure, thereby giving an opportunity for the ready abstraction of mud, ice, and other obstructions from the wheel-houses, so that the boxes will not be broken or forced from their bearings, a contingency of not unfrequent occurrence.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings Figure 1 is a plan or top view of a portion of the lower part of a street-car; Fig.2, atrans-- verse section of the same, taken in the line a: m, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a transverse section of the same, taken in the line y 3 Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference-indicate correspondin g partsin the several drawings.

A represents a portion of the bed or bottom of a streetcar, and B represents the pocket in which the door 0 of the car slides, the outer side of the car being designated a and the inner side or skirting by b.

In the lower part of this inner side or skirting I make a door, D, which may, if desired, be hung on hinges. This door is designed to be sufficiently large to admit of the ready insertion of the hand for the abstraction of broken glass or any other obstructions which may find their way into the pocket B.

At present, when the pocket becomes obstructed the skirting b has to be removed and this is attended with considerable trouble and expense, which are fully obviated by my improvement. 1

This man-hole or door may be applied to a car at an inappreciable expense,and will save a great deal of trouble and annoyance. Where the door can only be partially opened, the ready ingress and egress of passengers are greatly interfered with, and at present this annoyance must be borne until the skirting can be removed, which necessarily requires some time. My improvement, it will be seen, admits of the rubbish being removed at any time, and with the greatest facility.

E represents one of the whee1-houses,whieh, instead of being permanently secured in position, is made separate or detached, and is secured in proper place by means of a button, F. This button is pivoted to the top of the wheelhouse, and when turned or adjusted at right angles therewith its ends pass underneath the seat-rails c c, as shown clearly in Fig. 3, and hold the wheel-house in place.

By this arrangement it will be seen that the wheel-houses may be very readily detached and applied, and the interior of the latter, if filled or clogged up, cleaned out without any trouble or ditficulty whatever. Hence the diniculty of the filling up of the wheel-houses, the breaking of the boxes, or the forcing-of them from their fastenings will be fully obviated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim'as new, and desire to secure by'Letters Patent, is-

The movable or detachable wheel-house E, in combination with the cross-bar or button F, sliding or working under the seat-frame, sub stantially as shown and described.

JOHN STEPHENSON. Witnesses:

LEANDER M. DE LAMATER, JOHN A. TACKABERRY. 

